Preventing Plastic Pollution (PPP)
Ending in June 2023 Preventing Plastic Pollution worked in partnership with 18 organisations from across France and England, it worked to understand and reduce the impacts of plastic pollution in the marine environment.
Please note, Preventing Plastic Pollution ended in 2023.Â
By looking at the catchment from source to sea, the project identified and targeted hotspots for plastic, embedded behaviour change in local communities, and implemented effective solutions and alternatives.
The €14m Preventing Plastic Pollution project was approved by the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme, which committed €9.9m in funding through the European Regional Development Fund. The project worked across seven pilot sites: Brest Harbour, Bay of Douarnenez, Bay of Veys, Poole Harbour, and the Medway, Tamar, and Great Ouse estuaries.
The information gathered from research in these areas enabled the cross-Channel partnerships to tackle some of the four million tonnes of plastic waste that entered the sea via rivers every year.
Project objectives:Â
- Develop a scalable and transferable mapping tool to provide quantifiable evidence of sources and quantities of plastic pollution in catchments.
- Develop an effective portfolio of innovative interventions to reduce plastic waste in or entering catchments.
- Transform the behaviour of target groups and demonstrating best practice.
Expected project results:
PPP will improve water quality with:
- a) A 10 % improvement in good ecological status (WFD Descriptor 10) in transitional waters.
- b) A reduction in the harm caused by plastic pollution in rivers and the sea equivalent to €38.8M-€126M (150 km river/coast cleared, 200 t plastic removed).
- c) A plastic-free charter implemented by 650 businesses & 50 supply chains modified.
- d) Projected uptake to include+10 more catchments 2 yrs post project, and 100 catchments after 5 years.
Partners involved:
- Queen Mary University of London
- LABOCEA Conseil, Expertise et Analyses
- Syndicat mixte établissement public de gestion et d’aménagement de la baie de Douarnenez
- Office Français De La Biodiversité, Parc naturel marin d'Iroise
- Brest MĂ©tropole
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique
- Counseil départemental de la Manche
- Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer
- Environment Agency
- The Rivers Trust
- Syndicat de bassin de l’Elorn
- ACTIMAR
- Brest’aim
- Westcountry Rivers Trust
- South East Rivers Trust
- Plymouth City Council
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- University of Plymouth